The Respite of the Fall
by Gragagagagagagaga
Summary: A collision in shades of grey. Who will overcome? Who will succumb? And at the end who will embrace the respite of the fall? Sequal to ARTF. Torture, AU, noncon, violence, angst, slash, drugs, OOC, character death, lang, headtrips, general blasphemy.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Not mine.

Warnings: If you haven't read A Reason to Fight, then don't read this. It's a sequel. Updates will be erratic and almost any offensive thing you could imagine could possibly happen. I wing it and I'm pretty twisted. If you find inconsistencies in the plot or grammar or anything like that feel free to let me know so I can become a better writer. If the sex, violence, foul language, gore, and flat out misery that will definitely ensue upsets you, please feel free to let me know. I get off on other people's suffering. That said, read on fellow travelers.

* * *

It had felt good to knock him to the ground. It had felt good to watch him splutter and squirm like the maggot he truly was. It had felt even better to cast that final incendio once he had fallen, turning that impeccable porcelain skin to ash as he screamed. Harry shivered. The smell of burning flesh turned his stomach as the rush of power that came with felling the undeniable bastard that was Draco Malfoy sent him soaring to a place he found exceedingly difficult to leave with every venture.

The silken and seductive peace which came only when the anger and dolor he had been told to ignore for the better of those who despised him was unleashed enveloped him as he wandered the gardens of Malfoy manner. He always had been told to put others first; keep a stiff upper lip. He had been bent into an altruistic yet utterly helpless creature who was told not to fear when death waited for him around every corner. He had grown up crucified by the arbitrary hatred of his ignorant aunt and uncle, and then thrown into the wizarding world where he bore the same cross. He would bear it silently no longer. Vengeance was long overdue. He had devised a plan of his own and had only to bring it to Voldemort. He was sure that the dark lord would be delighted with him.

A dark chuckle escaped him as he turned a corner, only to find Snape bent over a hideous and apparently wilted plant, gathering pieces of it so gingerly that it almost seemed he was caressing the plant instead of hacking away at it.

Harry watched and waited until he was done bagging the plant before clearing his throat twice. He lifted his chin as Snape's eyes regarded him with their usual disinterest.

"Good evening professor." He said politely and the older man returned his greeting with the proper decorum. Harry wondered if his recent politeness stemmed from respect or the fear of insulting Lucius' new piece of eye candy and the Dark Lord's favorite.

"What are you collecting professor?" He pushed on and on, seeing how long it would take for the controlled man to lose all restraint and throttle him.

"Damiana."

"Is that not an aphrodisiac?" Harry noticed that there was only sadness in both his eyes and voice. He seemed entirely devoid of his usual hatred.

"Yes."

"Who are you brewing it for? I don't recall that potion being part of your duties to the hospital wing." He said with a small smirk and watched as The potion master's eyes hardened.

"Malfoy." He said tightly and Harry's shoulders shook with silent laughter.

"Oh, I wonder whatever he would need that for. A handsome devil such as him should have no problem finding prospective partners." He inwardly congratulated himself as the vein in Snape's forehead twitched.

"Insolent brat!"

"Oh, what happened to being respectful toward the son the Dark Lord never had?"

He found himself abruptly pinned against a nearby tree by a vermillion and grunting Severus Snape. A wand was pressed against his throat.

"How dare you even insinuate-"

"We all have our parts to play." Harry whispered back and watched as an unmistakably tall and silver-haired figure appeared near the back of the faraway manor. He smirked as an idea came to him.

"You might want to get off of me." He said in a low voice as he ran a hand over Severus' chest and found it pinned above his head in a hurry.

"Filthy ignorant slut! I will no longer endure your irritating presence. All it took was a bit of knowledge to transform you from a harmlessly ignorant well-meaning fool into a priggish masochist."

"You always know just what to say to make a girl feel special." Harry said loudly and moved his mouth against Severus' ear as Lucius drew closer.

"Lucius is going to be absolutely wild with jealousy when he sees how possessively you are holding me." He whispered and Severus let out an ang ry howl before stalking away with his basket.

Harry righted his clothes, seemingly oblivious to Malfoy's piercing glare as he hummed softly to himself. The man stalked forward with purpose and stopped before Harry who still seemed oblivious.

"I want you to leave." The older wizard said stiffly and harry turned his wide doe eyes up at him.

"All because Severus lost his temper? That seems a bit harsh-"

"You have nearly killed my son!"

"Oh come now, he conjured a poisonous snake while dueling with a parselmouth. Of course I was going to tell it to attack him."

"That is understandable! But was it necessary to burn off half of his face as he lay dying from venom, while I was forced to stand and watch?"

"You could have helped him."

"Do not play the naïve little gryffindor with me. You know that the Dark Lord would not have tolerated it."

"I am sorry, but, you ,better than anyone, should understand the thrill of the kill." Harry watched as the dark timbre he had effected caused Lucius' eyes to almost unnoticeably glaze. "As long as your son does not provoke me, I promise that I will not lay another finger on him." He moved a step closer. "And besides, if I leave, you will have to find someone else to dose with all of that damiana you are having Snape brew for you." He smiled impishly at the shocked look on Lucius' face before walking away.

Hermione gritted her teeth as she watched Harry priggishly strut away like a blatantly homosexual peacock. "God, he's become a bastard." She murmured aloud from her grotto of trees as she watched Lucius lean gracelessly against one, his seemingly perpetual poise tossed to the wind as he raked a hand through his hair.

"I suppose it was only a matter of time." He thought aloud as leaves rustled above his head. He looked in Harry's direction and shook his head fondly. "There hasn't been a Malfoy free of even slight sexual deviance since The Burning Times."

Hermione digested this information with a chuckle as he walked right past her on his stroll through the garden. This good-natured amusement evaporated as she glided after Harry into Malfoy Manor, fully aware that she was about to be sickened by his antics.

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AN: My Loves, I have returned! With my other two fanfics almost complete I have all the time for RotF and lots of slashy one shots! Hurray! Of course, I start my senior year in a few days and will be exceedingly busy but I'm going to do my best to get this finished within the year. Hmm..I just contradicted myself didn't I? Well, feel free to leave me a review. They motivate me and with how long this thing is going to be I'm gonna need some motivation. We got a long journey ahead of us.


	2. Chapter 2

Severus growled as he entered his home. He was beyond tired and beyond any semblance of tolerance. Voldemort was suspicious of betrayal and had started torturing his followers at random. While Severus had become almost entirely numb to death, gore, and almost any conceivable form of human suffering he knew that it was only a matter of time before Voldemort called upon him for his interrogation. On top of this, Harry Potter had managed to become an even greater nuisance and had taken to bating him with such a vengeance that his obnoxious behavior rivaled his father's. As his dueling teacher he was not only forced to admit that Potter was becoming a formidable opponent to say the least, but even more disturbingly watch as he became more warped and twisted with every passing day. On top of that, he had potions to brew for Dumbledore, Voldemort, Lucius, and…though he did not want to admit it…he knew that he could not stall Hermione much longer. They had all of their ingredients save one, the heart of a cambion.

He had done his best to procure one using his many less than savory connections and it had all come to nothing. He had flooed to _Antarctica_ to visit the one man who kept and sold items so illegal and dangerous that the only place he was safe from spending his life in Azkaban was in a subterranean ice cave in the middle of ice fjords (ten years ago when Snape had visited the man had, had a pointy eared, mismatched eyed, and fanged yet insubstantial man hanging from his ceiling).

The seller claimed that it was the reflection of the King of the Goblins and Snape was almost inclined to believe him, after all, he had never seen anything quite like it before. He arrived on his more recent visit to find the man clipping the toenails off of a yeti and nonchalantly placing them in labeled bags. However, when Severus asked if he had any cambion hearts for sale, the man had laughed in his face.

"No," The seller said with a derisive snort. "It's impossible."

"Un-fucking-belivable!" Severus growled as he threw himself on his sofa. If a man who captured the reflections of goblin kings and clipped the toenails of yetis as if he were taking a Sunday stroll thought that possessing a cambion heart was impossible, than it must have been. It looked as if there was no other choice.

"Did he have one?"

Severus' thoughts were interrupted by a pale and anxious Hermione. She watched him warily as he remained silent. She nudged him and he could see the hope hanging by a desperate thread behind her eyes. The words clung in his throat and tore themselves from his lips.

"No." He grimaced as the hope he had seen so briefly was snuffed out. She quickly rose from the couch.

"Then I'll summon an incubus tonight." She said and stiffly began to walk from the living room. Snape grimaced as words he could not bear to contain were ripped from his lips so abruptly that he almost tasted blood.

"Hermione, Wait." He cried softly, the knowledge that his words were in vain only sharpened them further. In his chest something that had started to crack long ago fissured further and hung precariously.

"No." She replied resolutely and as she turned away and quitted the room Severus felt something within him shatter into a million indefinable pieces.

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Tessara: Thank you! And I have plans for the both of them. Very convoluted plans! MWHA ha.

A/N: Angst. Angst. Angst.


	3. Chapter 3

Dumbledore shook his head as he looked at all of the forlorn and anxious order members. Harry had been gone for months and there had been no word from him. The only thing they had to go on were Severus' assurances that he was alive (which were not supremely comforting to most). Dumbledore began to speak a solemn greeting when Snape walked into the room. He seemed paler and to be walking even more stiffly than usual. He abruptly sat down and while his magic was too powerful for Dumbledore to be able to see clearly through his glamours, he could register their presence keenly. Dumbledore vowed to talk to Severus after their meeting, which he was certain would prove to be a dismal conversation to cap off an equally dismal meeting.

The meeting went exactly as planned. Severus said very little other than that Harry was alive and that Voldemort was gaining followers by leaps and bounds. The other order members had little to report other than that their efforts to gather aurors and others to join their side was not going as smoothly. Albus knew that Voldemort would make his final strike within the coming months and without Harry their cause was ultimately doomed. The meeting drew to an end and just as Severus rose to leave Dumbledore placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Do you have a moment, dear boy?" Severus nodded and the pair stood in silence until the last of the other members was gone. Severus remained silent as he waited for Dumbledore to begin. He had pushed all of his anxiousness to the very back of his mind and stood with a calm he did not genuinely feel.

"What happened to your face, Severus?" He asked with worry-filled eyes and Snape wordlessly dropped his glamour. Dumbledore's eyes widened as a lightening bolt shaped laceration materialized on the younger man's face. It stretched from his forehead to his cheek. His one eye was almost entirely swollen shut and his eyelashes and eyebrow had been burned away.

"H-Harry did this to you?"

Severus nodded tightly.

"I've never seen such a spell before." Dumbledore looked suspiciously at Snape and he sighed.

"He invented it. It's a modified incendio of some kind. He hasn't given me the details. Threw it out in the middle of a mock duel, you know; just for a laugh."

Dumbledore seemed to mull this over. An utterly broken look settled in the lines on his face. "Will he need to be gotten rid of?" He almost whispered and Snape recast his glamour, his face returning to its usual pallor.

"It would seem that way. Potter doesn't—_did_ not—have enough cunning in him to orchestrate some sort of scheme with such perfection. Bellatrix, who doesn't even trust _me_, even has taken a liking to him. He's become a staple in the underground and wormed his way into the inner circle faster than you can say imperio."

Dumbledore winced. "And you are certain that he has not been cursed, brainwashed, or his mind tampered with in any way?"

"Potter's mind has always been an open book, Headmaster. The only difference is that now it is a positively terrifying open book."

"But this cannot be right! The Harry I knew, his largest flaw was that he was simply too good-"

"Well, the Harry of late spends his days torturing others and his nights tying a married man twice his age to the chair in his study—"

"Severus, how long has this been going on? You did not inform me of any romantic entanglements."

"It's hardly romantic I can assure you. It is between himself and Lucius Malfoy."

Dumbledore folded his hands in his lap. "And you are sure that Lucius has done nothing to tamper with his mind?"

Snape sighed. "If anything one would think that Harry has cast some sort of spell on Lucius. He tramples all over him on a daily basis."

"I would appreciate it if you would tell the others nothing of these developments. They need not know what Harry has become. I will look for other avenues. You may go."

But Severus lingered. He had many questions, but none which he could ask without revealing things he had done and had been a part of which he could not afford to make known. After only a brief few seconds he turned on his heal and departed. He had one last visit to make before he could go home to help Hermione summon the dreaded incubus.

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KnM: Great to hear from you again! And don't assume anything. Trust me. I am beginning to learn the art of ze plot twist and also the art of actually planning out a plot before I just haphazardly write things.

thebestestfriendsforever: Thanks!

Illini301: Thanks so much! You're review really just made my day. And I am a Snermione fan myself. You'll come to learn that I am a fairly bipolar updater. Sometimes you get five chapters in a day and other times you get nothing for weeks. It's just how I roll.

A/N: Wow, it's been over a month. I wish I had a TARDIS sometimes. I actually do have a shitload of excuses for you, but I doubt you want to hear them. Hope you enjoyed the chapter. God my head hurts.


	4. Chapter 4

"YOU ABSOLOUTE MORON! YOU COULDN'T WAIT ANOTHER FUCKING _TEN _MINUTES!!!!!!???"

Hermione was awakened from her slumber drenched in cold water. She looked up to find Severus standing in the center of the circle she had drawn in chalk in order to summon the incubus. All of the candles were knocked over and the protective herbs and pentacle she had drawn were now an absolute mess. Before she could protest she was being crushed against his body.

"The wards alerted me to a fire!" He cried and started to litter her face with kisses. "I thought that that vile _thing _had harmed you!" He said and Hermione forgot all about being angry that he had disturbed her ritual. As his lips ghosted along her cheeks, chin, and were pressed softly against her eyelids she felt a smile start to upturn her lips. The faint scent of burnt hair hung in the air and she looked to see that an entire hunk of her frizz mop had been burnt away. The end of the section was smoking slightly.

"Thankfully it was only you laying too close to those damn tasteless ornaments." He said and buried his face in her hair. Hermione wanted to admonish him (she could almost feel his smirk), as she had carved the symbols into the candles herself to help attract the demon. They might not have been a work of art but she had done her best.

"You should really learn to restrain this beast." He said and sank his hands into what was left of her mass of tangled locks. Where his fingers touched fire sparked and shot through Hermione's veins, coiling in the pit of her stomach

"Oh!" She moaned and he inched away, looking at her suspiciously. Hermione's chest began to heave. Her eyes glazed and her pupils dilated. Severus watched, almost entranced as she started to slide her hands along her clothed body. She arched into her own touch as her fingers grazed her nipples, which hardened to such an extent that he could see them become points beneath her white shift.

"You took an extra dose of an aphrodisiac to prepare didn't you?" He asked and watched as Hermione started to writhe as if his voice had physically touched her. She sat on his bed and gasped as the fabric brushed her bare skin. She then leapt against one of the posts of her bed. She kept it in a crushing grip as she started to rub against it, digging its ridges against her clit.

"Did you not!?" He almost barked and Hermione did not answer. She was lost in sensation. She had registered that he had spoken, but little else. His commanding tone had her in ecstasies.

"For heaven's sake! Show some restr…" He trialed off as suddenly her head turned toward him and her body froze in mid writhe. Her eyes turned toward him as if he were pray and swept along his body, stopping at the sizable bulge barely constrained by his trousers. She even had the nerve to lick her lips, the tiny pink tongue snaking out only to be caught between her white teeth.

"Mmmmm, wouldn't I rather have that in between my legs." She said with a little groan as she detached herself from the post only to reach out one tantalizing arm and lithe little hand. Snape's face started to flush.

"In between my breasts." She said and pulled the top tie of her nightie free. One side fell free completely and bared one of her petite breasts to the room which was lit only by moonlight and the few candles which Severus had not knocked over.

"In between my lips." She said and spread her legs. She scooted back on the bed so her knees pointed up toward the ceiling and her toes barely gripped the bed's edge. The tiny pink hole between her smooth lips was bared to Severus' eyes and he could not longer restrain himself.

With a flick of his wand his clothes disappeared and his long, lean frame was bared to the light. Scars as well as sparse dark hairs were littered across his wiry and well-defined frame. His inky hair fell and brushed his knife-like collarbones. Hermione's gaze travelled along the line of hair which thickened and dusted heavy balls and an impossibly large cock.

Hermione almost started to salivate as he lunged at her. His intense gaze ravaging her as his lips and teeth made quick work of her lips before starting to pull at her nipples and fondle her breasts.

Hermione moaned as he dug a jagged tooth into her nipple just as two of his lithe fingers slipped between her folds to pinch her clit. Her own nails were digging red tracks into his shoulder blades.

Her body sang as his tongue touched her in the most intimate of places for the first time. "God!" She cried as he pierced her with his sharp tongue. Suddenly he stopped and Hermione was ready to scream.

"Lord or Master will suffice." He drawled and just as Hermione was about to reply he smacked her ass and drove two fingers into her sopping wet hole. He quickly moved in and out, scissoring and searching about until at last he found the spot he sought. Hermione's entire body briefly shuddered. He chuckled darkly against her opening, taking one last lap and nip at her sensitive pussy before…

"God Severus yes!"

Hermione's trance was broken as she remembered that no mortal man would have a penis that frigid and ungodly hard. As the thing above her slid in and out of her again and again, she started to sob and no amount of aphrodisiac could convince her to do otherwise.

Severus Snape banged his head against the wall as he sat in his room, unable to do anything but listen as cries of "Oh, Severus, yes!" turned to bitter tears. He could hear her weep and he could hear the thing grunting as it reached its climax and spilled its seed. He sat with his head buried in his arms and knees against the door of his bedroom. His nails had dug bloody crescents into his palms. While he had at first been both flattered and horrified to think that the incubus had chosen him as the form with which he would seduce Hermione, at the moment it took all of his restraint not to burst into the room and destroy the damn thing.

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KnM: I haz plans for Mr. Potter........ and thank you.

A/N: I am going to go eat some muffins in an agitated manner.


	5. Chapter 5

"I almost told him once."

Lucius' eyes shot open. It was too late to be considered early and too early to be considered late. The morning was dark and seemed to be drawn about the manner like heavy curtains. His grey eyes turned breifly to the window before turning to his partner, the raven- haired disturbance. His skin was soft and pale and his features untroubled by sleep. He had become used to the boy's incoherent mumblings at night. He would watch with lustfilled eyes as he would sometimes sweat or arch or twitch. He would sometimes take his bright pink lips between his perfectly white teeth. His slender hands would often fist the sheets.

"I almost told him once." Harry repeated and Lucius watched his tiny tongue flick agianst his bottom lip.

"I was crying and Remus was trying to comfort me." The boy's entire body started to shake and Lucius rose from the bed to pour them both a glass of water. He conjured two glasses and a pitcher. He kept one eye on the pouring pitcher and one on Harry. "I told you I loved you...."

Lucius' eyes widened. He had never heard such earnest emotion had never escape the boy's lips. He slid, naked, back into the bed and lay on his side, watching as Harry stopped speaking and fell back into a deep sleep. He contemplated waking him for round three, but found that he simply did not feel so inclined.

--------

Severus walked into Hermione's room the following morning to find her laying in the center of an undisturbed spell circle. The candles surrounding her had all been burned down to the last of the wick and the circles of chalk and herbs had been undisturbed. He winced upon seeing the blood between her thighs and the bloody welts where the incubus had bitten her in passion standing out starkly against her pale skin. Her breasts were almost entirely swollen with bruises. Severus gently gathered her in his arms and stretched her out on her bed. He immediately began to apply the salve he had brought with him.

The second his fingers touched her Hermione awoke with a start and started to shake violently.

"Get away from me!" She cried and while Severus knew that she did not mean it, it hurt immensely.

"Incubi can not be seen by daylight." He said and Hermione calmed marginally. While she became capable of rational thought, she still looked utterly terrified.

"S-s-sorry." She said weakly and Snape took her hand.

"You have nothing to be sorry for." He said and Hermione started to tear up she reached for a lock of her hair and looked at it searchingly. She then looked toward the undisturbed circle on the floor.

"It was all a dream!" She then started to wail and Severus took her into his arms as she shook, at an utter loss.

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KnM: From reading this you would never think that Snape is actually one of my fave fictional characters of all time. Cruel and talented? Thank you very much my dear. My night has just been made.

Illini301: "Get his turn". lol. I love you. He might. He might not. I'm in a pretty sadistic mood right now, but that's liable to change. Also, it depends on how it serves the plot. I'm not a very self-indulgent writer. I serve the plot.

A/N: I will beat you down at cool canasta.


	6. Chapter 6

He had not wanted to leave Hermione alone, but the dark lord had called and he had not had a choice. He knew that she understood the repercussions of his absence more keenly than any other. However, he could also tell that while she physically let him leave with grace, inside she was terrified of being left alone for an instant. He was honestly afraid to leave her alone, but seeing no other way, he donned his hated mask and robes and departed. He had heard talk of betrayers being tortured and steeled himself. His lord had become increasingly vindictive as of late.

As he entered Malfoy manner he buried his last organic thought and the bile which rose with it; The sadistic and unfettered joy in the eyes which no longer belonged to Lily Potter. There was no doubt in his mind that soon Potter would become involved in the almost nightly entertainments. He was relieved to see that others were still entering the chamber as he entered. He was slightly relieved at having to avoid a fraction of the night's promised torture.

* * *

"My lord." Harry said with blatant admiration as he fluidly knelt down by Voldemort's robes and kissed the hem. He rose at an inoffensive pace at the older man's nod, only to feel a long-fingered and somewhat cold hand placed across his shoulder. This hand guided Harry to his usual place, on a less ornate yet very coveted chair, right beside his lord. As they sat three of the newer recruits (who had been death eaters long enough to realize exactly what they had gotten into) who had been caught attempting to give Dumbledore information in exchange for his protection were brought before them and in the very center of the circle of death eaters.

Harry remained still as Voldemort bent toward him to whisper in his ear.

"Traitors." He whispered and Harry smirked. He remained seated as Voldemort stood to face his following, most of which held the dark eyes of predators itching and scratching to kill.

"As a reward for his progress during the past months the honor of seeing to the punishments of these vile traitors to our cause will be bestowed upon Harry Potter." He said and motioned towards Harry who stood and looked toward the trembling traitors. He stood and confidently strode toward them, a wicked gleam in his eyes. Half of the congregation watched in suspicion, the other half--who knew Harry well--in anticipation.

Before him stood a woman and two men.

"Please." The woman begged and Harry could see that she was rather attractive. Her eyes were wide and hazel and her hair was dirty blonde.

"Divesto!" He whispered, his voice carrying throughout the hall. Suddenly the woman was naked. He placed a hand under her chin and her coltish figure began to shake like a leaf.

"Please!" She cried again and Harry smirked.

"Bring me the old wooden table in the foyer!" He called and the death eaters looked at him and then each other confusedly. "NOW!!" He bellowed and it was not long until several of the younger death eaters left and returned with an old, thick wooden table. "Turn it over and get out of the way." He said and after a few tries the table was overturned and lay with its legs sticking up in the air. He took the naked woman by the hand and led her toward it. He gently lay her down upon it, seemed to pull rope from the very air, and then started to bind one of her hands to the upturned legs. She started to weep and Harry only continued his work without a hitch. In minutes she was bound tightly to the table, spread eagle.

Harry loomed over the girl as her whole body quaked. He seemed to ponder something deeply for a few long minutes before turning on his heel and facing the two men.

"Imperio." He said and the two men were overcome. They stared blankly at him, their heads almost lolling.

"Rape her." He said blandly. "Every fantasy that you have ever had. Her cunt will take it." The girl howled in fear, writhing against her bonds. The entire circle or enrapt death eaters seemed to take a simultaneous step forward as the men lumbered towards her. One knelt between her legs and the other stood with his legs on either side of the table. His bits dangled over her face. He wrapped his fingers around his fairly average sized prick and his dazed eyes rolled back into his head as he pissed all over her face. She gagged and spluttered as the putrid yellow fluid dripped down her throat and clung to her eyelashes.

She wailed as the other began to rub his feet between her legs. Harry returned to sit beside Voldemort, who languidly stroked his head in approval as if he were a beloved pet.

It was not long before the woman started to moan as the men pulled and pushed and violated every last inch of her. The crowd was not nearly as intrigued by her pleasure as they had been by her misery and Harry could feel the beginning of restlessness whispering at the edge's of the congregation. Red blood glistened between her thighs.

Stop." He said and the cadaverous movements of the men stopped to the woman's loudly moaned annoyance. "Now, take her at once." The two men lumbered toward her and she arched toward them. Their members hardened as they swayed; both trying to force themselves between the legs of the table. They both could not fit. The pain of being unable to fulfill their given task wracked them and they both crumpled to the floor, trying to strangle the other. The woman watched with a dead fish's eyes, numbed in her post orgasmic haze.

The death eaters circled in tightly as one man finally pinned the other to the floor. He kept him incapacitated with his thighs and grasped his head firmly between his hands. He grunted like a dying animal as he repeatedly drove his comrade's head into the ground. The company waited on baited breath as he turned vermillion, then purple, and slowly to an empty deathly grey. A deafening crack was heard as his skull at last split. Blood seeped forth from the gaping wound in his head as entire shards of bone fell away. The woman was screaming.

The Dark Lord gave Harry leave to end it then, but Harry refused. He watched with terrible glee as the remaining man drove into the woman one last time, blood and semen flinging in every direction, and promptly collapsed on top of her. His eyes rolled back into his head and the weakened woman slowly suffocated beneath his weight.

* * *

KnM: I happen to think Malfoy's pretty hot. And you've become very suspicious of me since ARTF. It's fantastic!

A/N: Happy belated Thanksgiving.


	7. Chapter 7

Hermione watched as Severus poured heated liquid gold into the cauldron. It was the base of the potion and would have to simmer for exactly fourteen days before the complex brewing and ritual that came with crafting Åndeliv began. They had everything necessary save one item. A simple spell had proven that Hermione was indeed pregnant with the first known cambion in centuries. The only thing left was a Hamingja. Severus had been shamelessly procrastinating in procuring it, as he loathed Ulric Engstrom with a passion.

"Has Harry really become that bad?" Hermione asked and Severus quickly cast a stasis spell on the cauldron. He didn't look up at her.

"You saw what he did to my face."

Hermione was silent. She never enjoyed these conversations regarding Harry. They could hardly even be called conversations. She would ask several of the same five questions, occasionally even repeating the same question. Severus would give her the same answers. They were mostly silent and neither of them particularly gained anything from them. They were mostly comprised of tense reluctant silence and omission of facts from both sides. She wished they weren't necessary.

"What time is it?" She asked after a long while.

"Almost midnight." He responded tightly. Hermione hated the atmosphere even mentioning Harry produced.

"I'm going to go off to bed then. Goodnight." Severus tensed almost imperceptibly. He knew that she did not sleep.

"Sleep well." He said. He knew that the majority of the energy potions in his stores had been brewed as replacements by the clever witch. Despite being able to copy his own spidery handwriting to perfection, she could not replicate his own work with absolute precision. That was what made him a master.

"And you as well." She said tightly. She knew that he did not sleep. She wished all of this covert and secret understanding was not necessary. She could feel herself beginning to slip. She buried all discomfort and selfish dolor as she shut her bedroom door behind her. Her night's work began.

* * *

KnM: Indeed. I feel like I have heard someone say that before. Are you quoting something?

A/N: 7


	8. Chapter 8

"Oh look," Harry drawled, spread out on his bed like an indulgent lord, green eyes glinting maliciously. "It's the little mudblood ghost."

While Hermoine heard this everytime she came to visit and she knew that it was not his fault, it never became any easier to hear.

Partly because she knew it was entirely her fault. She also was not sure what effects continuously altering Harry's personality magically would have. She had changed some of his memories and erase others completely. She kept his natural mind hidden from him. The true Harry did not torture. The true Harry did not kill. The true harry was too full of self-doubt to utilize the full extent of his power.

That was why she kept the true Harry locked away.

He did not even remember her anymore. He remembered nothing of their circumstances. As far as he knew she was dead.

"Respite!" She hissed and he collapsed against the bed. She was playing a dangerous game. The longer this continued the more damage there would be to his mind, and there had not been enough research done to illustrate the full effects. Hermoine was in unknown territory. Every week she would visit him, and whatever of his old self either remained or tried to poke through his old consciousness she would remove.

She kept every little piece of consciousness tucked away in a secret place, praying that on the day she would return it to him it would not be too late, or that the consequences would be horrible.

She prayed that the day would come where she could return it to him.

That night there was very little left to remove. Every week there was less and less of the Harry she had grown up with. A month before the final battle, there was nothing left of Harry Potter at all. There was not even a whisper of what he once had been.

There was joy in death. Joy in power. And joy in destruction.

She tried not to forget who he had been, but it was hard. He made her wonder what exactly she was fighting for. She protectively wrapped her arms around her large stomach.

She shivered when the little Cambion moved.

Its time was coming.

AN: I cannot fucking believe that its almost been a year. I'm so sorry. In order to make it up to you, I am attempting to construct the most twisting and turning ending you have ever seen. Please don't hate me.


	9. Chapter 9

Albus Dumbledore knew that the he had not won, and he had not lost.

The game was no longer his win or lose. The war was out of his hands. Every promise he had ever made he was no longer in a position to keep.

Except one.

As he sat at the head of the table in Grimmauld Place, the other members of the order around him, he knew what he had to tell them. Their lighthearted chatter was forced and he did not mind in the least.

"My friends," He began and they fell silent immediately. He steepled his fingers and bowed his head only slightly before looking up at them all again. "You probably do not need me to tell you that it is only a matter of days before the Death Eaters come."

Not a single member of the Order of the Phoenix looked surprised.

"With the disappearances, and the increasingly frequent attacks, you must have realized weeks ago where we are headed, and what will happen." He folded his hands on top of the table. "And thanks to Severus, we know that they will attack in three waves, but first they will have to dismantle the protective wards. While they have the means to do this, it will buy us some time-"

"Headmaster," Mister Weasley's mouth was twisted into a frown and his eyes were grave. "We've heard things about Harry." Not a single member of the order even dared to breathe. "Things about him committing rape and murder. Things about him torturing muggles. About him being...about...about him being the next Voldemort."

"They can't be true." Molly Weasley insisted. "They can't be and they're not!"

Dumbledore held up his hands before the argument could devolve into a brawl. "Before I answer any questions, I need you all to understand one thing." Everyone looked at him expectantly. "Nothing is at it seems. This is so much more than a war. It is more than you could possibly imagine. Believe nothing that you see at first sight. There are powers at work beyond my own here."

In typical Dumbledore fashion, it was an answer which told you everything, but explained less than nothing.

"When they come you will see things that you will not believe. When they come you will see things that will make you want to drop your wand and fall to the ground, never to arise again." He stood. "This is what Voldemort wants. He wants you to give up. He wants you to stop fighting. He wants you to be so full of grief and anguish and despair that you are easy for his death eaters to capture and kill."

He sat back down.

"But we cannot afford to fail. For the sake of every witch and wizard in our world, we must not fail."

Everyone sat in silence, placated with his moving speech, but one.

"And what about Harry?" Asked Molly Weasley.

"He is no longer himself. On the battlefield, you are to avoid him at all costs."

Everyone at the table looked accusingly at Severus Snape. He curled his lip at them.

"We will speak more on this tomorrow night. I have things I must see to. My friends, you are dismissed. Severus, come with me."

Everyone filed out of the room and Snape remained, standing by his chair.

"Headmaster-"

"I want to see her."

Snape raised a single eyebrow in question.

"Take me to her."

"To whom, headmaster?"

"Hermione Granger."

KnM: Like I said, I am going to make my inconsistency up to you with the MOST TWISTING AND TURNING ENDING EVER. Especially to you, as you are possibly the most loyal reader on planet earth.


	10. Chapter 10

As Severus entered his home with Albus Dumbledore he heard Hermione's voice clearly in his head.

_I'm so sorry Severus. _

He could hear her crying. Hermione never cried.

_I'm so sorry. _

She repeated again and again.

"I want to speak to her alone." Dumbledore's tone betrayed neither reproach nor anger. His tone was flat.

_I'm in the library. _

"She's in the library." Severus repeated and Dumbledore nodded once before disappearing with a sharp pop.

* * *

KnM: Dumbledore has approximate knowledge of many things.

AN: Look up the song Chinatown by Destroyer. I am in no way affiliated with them and make no money for pimping them out. I'm just trying to spread the love man. They are fantastic!


	11. Chapter 11

Severus Snape did not even attempt to use Occlumency to discover what Hermione and Dumbledore were discussing in the library.

Hermione was sitting expectantly in an old wingback chair when the headmaster appeared in the Snape family library. She had a book resting on her large, distended stomach.

He looked older and frailer than she had ever seen. It made her want to weep. His piercing eyes widened as they rested on her stomach. He looked even paler.

"It's not Severus'." She said. Her voice was arthritic and narrow.

The old wizard shook his head sadly. "I know." He came toward her and took her hand. "I would like to help you."

Hermione kept quiet. She wasn't sure whether he was referring to the Åndeliv or what she had been doing to Harry. She prayed it was the Åndeliv. She hoped that luck was with her, and he would know something about it that she and Severus did not. No one could ever know what she had done and was going to do to him. It took all of her vast intellect and control to keep herself from twitching beneath his gaze. She had forgotten what it felt like to be a child.

"Åndeliv has been illegal due to the fact that it demands two murders to be complete, and murder is generally frowned upon."

She had also forgotten the world of her past, where death was a faraway, abstract concept and murder was not just a necessary part of the job.

"Also, even with the two necessary sacrifices, it is not guaranteed that your potion will succeed. If the heart of your child is not still beating when placed into the cauldron, that lowers your chances of success."

Hermione's eyes widened as she realized what he was going to suggest.

"If the old man or woman you use is not willing, your chance of success decreases. I am old. I am willing."

Hermione did not know what to say.

"But the order needs you." She says eventually.

"You and Severus are more integral to the outcome of this war than I will ever be, especially you."

"But the side of light thinks that I'm dead and wish that Severus was. They love you. They respect you. You give them hope. We cannot give them that."

"This is because you paid the price that they could not. It is time that I paid my dues."

"Headmaster! You have given everything-"

"I want to do this for Harry."

"You will leave your whole army to fend for themselves and abandon everyone who trusts you?"

Albus Dumbledore smiled a mischievous, somewhat sad smile.

"Not exactly, call Severus."

She does.

I have been writing this story since 2008, when I was fifteen years old. I am going to be nineteen in about a week, and I feel it is my duty to my younger self to wrap this bitch up. I am trying the best I can to maintain the old style, even though my own actual style of writing has evolved. I apologize if the style is inconsistent. Despite me being a bastard about updating I get so many hits on this thing that I'd feel guilty leaving so many people hanging. Please enjoy. I will do my best to update once a week until the bitter end.

Thanks for hanging in there guys.


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